Biography shares local Christian’s experience at Vimy Ridge

Jenny Burr
Spur Ottawa Correspondent

Honouring the sacrifices that paid for Canada’s freedom is an important value to instill in young Canadians. For elementary schools, however, “student friendly” books and information about veterans or the world wars is limited. Finding Remembrance Day material that expresses Christian faith is almost impossible, until recently.

This year, Rob More, a teacher with the Ottawa Catholic School Board, has a solution. More wrote an age- and topic-appropriate chapter book for students in Grades 4 to 6. The story is a biography of Henry Barrie, a Christian man from Watson’s Corners, in the Ottawa Valley, who enlisted and fought at Vimy Ridge, in World War 1 (WW1).

“Eighty percent of WW1 material is written for adults and the other 20 percent is for high school students,” More explains. “Henry Barrie: Vimy Ridge Survivor is a book elementary students can read, understand, and use to learn about our WW1 veterans.”

Henry Barrie in his WW1 Canadian military uniform. Photo courtesy of the Henry Barrie family.

Although a traditional publisher was interested in the book, More says they wanted to downplay the Christian aspects of the book. He refused, opting to self-publish.

“I wanted to make sure everyone knew how important Barrie’s faith was to him and how his Christian faith carried him through his experience.”

A significant portion of the book is expressed through Barrie’s voice, based on a three-year diary he kept during his time at Vimy Ridge.

“Henry Barrie actually kept the diary with him, which was highly illegal and grounds for treason if he had been caught,” says More.

Diaries were supposed to remain at camp and they were to be informational not personal.

Henry Barrie stands with men from the Lanark Battalion. Barrie is on the left with his arm around his best friend, Jimmy. Photo courtesy of the Henry Barrie family.

“The diary is a firsthand account of the trenches. Every day, Barrie would write three or four sentences basically talking about his daily life and including a prayer.”

More has spent the past few years writing biographies of 250 local WW1 veterans. More was interviewed in local media about the books and that media coverage led Barrie’s family to contact him. They asked if he would be interested in writing a book about their grandfather, based on the diary and letters which they had.

“The book gives life to the writings in his diary,” shares Barrie’s grandson, Walter Gemmill. “I guess you could say it joins the dots together. I was seven years old when my grandfather died. My sister is two-and-a-half years younger than me, so we barley remember him. The book has changed that.

“I feel that I have been taken back to a time before I was born and given a glimpse into a person’s life, who I loved very much. I’m grateful that More was willing to take the time to make my grandfather’s diary into a story we could all understand.”